Lamivudine (3TC), the negative enantiomer of 2'-deoxy-3'-thiacytidine, is a dideoxynucleoside analogue used in combination with other agents in the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection and as monotherapy in the treatment of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Lamivudine undergoes anabolic phosphorylation by intracellular kinases to form lamivudine 5'-triphosphate, the active anabolite which prevents HIV-1 and HBV replication by competitively inhibiting viral reverse transcriptase and terminating proviral DNA chain extension. The pharmacokinetics of lamivudine are similar in patients with HIV-1 or HBV infection, and healthy volunteers. The drug is rapidly absorbed after oral administration, with maximum serum concentrations usually attained 0.5 to 1.5 hours after the dose. The absolute bioavailability is approximately 82 and 68% in adults and children, respectively. Lamivudine systemic exposure, as measured by the area under the serum drug concentration-time curve (AUC), is not altered when it is administered with food. Lamivudine is widely distributed into total body fluid, the mean apparent volume of distribution (Vd) being approximately 1.3 L/kg following intravenous administration. In pregnant women, lamivudine concentrations in maternal serum, amniotic fluid, umbilical cord and neonatal serum are comparable, indicating that the drug diffuses freely across the placenta. In postpartum women lamivudine is secreted into breast milk. The concentration of lamivudine in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is low to modest, being 4 to 8% of serum concentrations in adults and 9 to 17% of serum concentrations in children measured at 2 to 4 hours after the dose. In patients with normal renal function, about 5% of the parent compound is metabolised to the trans-sulphoxide metabolite, which is pharmacologically inactive. In patients with renal impairment, the amount of trans-sulphoxide metabolite recovered in the urine increases, presumably as a function of the decreased lamivudine elimination. As approximately 70% of an oral dose is eliminated renally as unchanged drug, the dose needs to be reduced in patients with renal insufficiency. Hepatic impairment does not affect the pharmacokinetics of lamivudine. Systemic clearance following single intravenous doses averages 20 to 25 L/h (approximately 0.3 L/h/kg). The dominant elimination half-life of lamivudine is approximately 5 to 7 hours, and the in vitro intracellular half-life of its active 5'-triphosphate anabolite is 10.5 to 15.5 hours and 17 to 19 hours in HIV-1 and HBV cell lines, respectively. Drug interaction studies have shown that trimethoprim increases the AUC and decreases the renal clearance of lamivudine, although lamivudine does not affect the disposition of trimethoprim. Other studies have demonstrated no significant interaction between lamivudine and zidovudine or between lamivudine and interferon-alpha-2b. There is limited potential for drug-drug interactions with compounds that are metabolised and/or highly protein bound.

. Studies of viral genotype and phenotype after virus rebound revealed that the initial active site mutation allowing for nelfinavir resistance is mediated by a unique amino acid substitution in the HIV-1 protease D30N, which does not confer in vitro phenotypic cross-resistance to the currently available protease inhibitors.

Coadministration of lamivudine with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole resulted in an increased AUC infinity and a decreased CLR of lamivudine. However, given the favorable safety profile of lamivudine, it is unlikely that this interaction will result in a significant increase in concentration-related toxicity at the doses studied.

Abacavir is a carbocyclic 2'-deoxyguanosine nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor that is used as either a 600-mg once-daily or 300-mg twice-daily regimen exclusively in the treatment of HIV infection. Abacavir is rapidly absorbed after oral administration, with peak concentrations occurring 0.63-1 hour after dosing. The absolute bioavailability of abacavir is approximately 83%. Abacavir pharmacokinetics are linear and dose-proportional over the range of 300-1200 mg/day. To date, one study has assessed the steady-state pharmacokinetics of abacavir following a 600-mg once-daily regimen, and reported a geometric mean steady-state abacavir peak concentration of 3.85 microg/mL. Although this concentration is higher than the steady-state abacavir peak concentration reported following a 300-mg twice-daily regimen (0.88-3.19 microg/mL, depending on the study), the geometric mean steady-state abacavir exposure over 24 hours was similar following these regimens. Coadministration with food has no significant effect on abacavir exposure; therefore, abacavir may be administered with or without food.The apparent volume of distribution of abacavir after intravenous administration is approximately 0.86 +/- 0.15 L/kg, suggesting that abacavir is distributed to extravascular spaces. Binding to plasma proteins is about 50% and is independent of the plasma abacavir concentration. Abacavir is extensively metabolized by the liver; less than 2% is excreted as unchanged drug in the urine. Abacavir is primarily metabolized via two pathways, uridine diphosphate glucuronyltransferase and alcohol dehydrogenase, resulting in the inactive glucuronide metabolite (361W94, ~36% of the dose recovered in the urine) and the inactive carboxylate metabolite (2269W93, approximately 30% of the dose recovered in the urine). The remaining 15% of abacavir equivalents found in the urine are minor metabolites, each less than 2% of the total dose. Faecal elimination accounts for about 16% of the dose. The terminal elimination half-life of abacavir is approximately 1.5 hours. The antiviral effect of abacavir is due to its intracellular anabolite, carbovir-triphosphate (CBV-TP). When assessed by validated high-performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry, CBV-TP has been shown to have a long elimination half-life (>20 hours), supporting once-daily dosing. The mean CBV-TP trough concentrations do not differ following abacavir 600-mg once-daily and 300-mg twice-daily regimens. Limited data are available for abacavir in subjects with renal dysfunction or hepatic impairment. Abacavir pharmacokinetics in HIV-infected subjects with end-stage renal disease were found to be no different from those observed in healthy adults; this finding was consistent with the kidney being a minor route of abacavir elimination. A study of abacavir pharmacokinetics in hepatically impaired adults (Child-Pugh score of 5-6) showed that the abacavir area under the plasma concentration-time curve and elimination half-life were 89% and 58% greater...

The purpose of this study was to determine the safety and pharmacokinetics of lamivudine (3TC), a nucleoside analog that has shown potent in vitro and recent in vivo activity against human immunodeficiency virus. Sixteen human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients, six with normal renal function (creatinine clearance [CLCR], > or = 60 ml/min), four with moderate renal impairment (CLCR, 10 to 40 ml/min), and six with severe renal impairment (CLCR, < 10 ml/min), were enrolled in the study. After an overnight fast, patients were administered 300 mg of 3TC orally. Blood was obtained before 3TC administration and 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 24, 32, 40, and 48 h afterward. Timed urine collections were performed for patients able to produce urine. Serum and urine were assayed for 3TC by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection. Pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by using standard noncompartmental techniques. The peak concentration of 3TC increased with decreasing renal function; geometric means were 2,524, 3,538, and 5,684 ng/ml for patients with normal renal function, moderate renal impairment, and severe renal impairment, respectively. The terminal half-life also increased with decreasing renal function; geometric means were 11.5, 14.1, and 20.7 h for patients with normal renal function, moderate renal impairment, and severe renal impairment, respectively. Both oral and renal clearances were linearly correlated with CLCR. A 300-mg dose of 3TC was well tolerated by all three patient groups. The pharmacokinetics of 3TC is profoundly affected by impaired renal function. Dosage adjustment, by either dose reduction or lengthening of the dosing interval, is warranted.

Once-daily administration of 300 mg of lamivudine in combination with other antiretroviral agents has been proposed as a possible way to optimize anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) treatment and to facilitate adherence. A single-center, randomized, two-way, crossover study was conducted in 60 healthy subjects to compare the steady-state pharmacokinetics of lamivudine in plasma and its putative active anabolite, lamivudine 5-triphosphate (lamivudine-TP), in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) following 7 days of treatment with lamivudine at 300 mg once daily and 7 days of the standard regimen of 150 mg twice daily. Serial blood samples were collected over 24 h for determination of plasma lamivudine concentrations by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and intracellular lamivudine-TP concentrations in peripheral blood mononuclear cells by high-performance liquid chromatography/radioimmunoassay methods. Pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated based on lamivudine and lamivudine-TP concentration-time data. Regimens were considered bioequivalent if 90% confidence intervals (CI) for the ratio (once daily/twice daily) of geometric least-squares (GLS) means for lamivudine and lamivudine-TP pharmacokinetic values fell within the acceptance range of 0.8 to 1.25. Steady-state plasma lamivudine pharmacokinetics following the once-and twicedaily regimens were bioequivalent with respect to the area under the drug concentration-time curve from 0 to 24 h at steady state (AUC 24,ss ) (GLS mean ratio, 0.94; 90% CI, 0.92, 0.97) and average plasma lamivudine concentration over the dosing interval (C ave,ss ) (GLS mean ratio, 0.94; 90% CI, 0.92, 0.97). Steady-state intracellular lamivudine-TP pharmacokinetics after the once-and twice-daily regimens were bioequivalent with respect to AUC 24,ss (GLS mean ratio, 0.99; 90% CI, 0.88, 1.11), C ave,ss (GLS mean ratio, 0.99; 90% CI, 0.88, 1.11), and maximum lamivudine concentration (C max,ss ) (GLS mean ratio, 0.93; 90% CI, 0.81, 1.07). Lamivudine-TP trough concentrations were modestly lower (by 18 to 24%) during the once-daily regimen; the clinical importance of this is unclear, given the large intersubject variability in values that was observed (coefficient of variation, 48 to 124%). Once-daily lamivudine was as well tolerated as the twice-daily regimen. Overall, the results of this study suggest that for key AUC-related parameters, lamivudine at 300 mg once daily is pharmacokinetically equivalent to lamivudine at 150 mg twice daily.Lamivudine is a nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) that is frequently used as a core component of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) regimens in the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection (13). In clinical trials conducted over 48 weeks, twice-daily regimens combining lamivudine at 150 mg with the NRTIs zidovudine (300 mg) and abacavir (300 mg) have proved equivalent to lamivudine-zidovudine-protease inhibitor combinations in reducing HIV-1 RNA levels and elevating CD4 cell counts (19;

Lamivudine is a novel cytosine nucleoside analog, reverse transcriptase inhibitor that has shown activity against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) types 1 and 2 and hepatitis B virus in vitro. This study was conducted to compare the absolute bioavailability, pharmacokinetics, and absorption characteristics of oral solution, 100-mg capsule, and 100-mg tablet formulations of lamivudine with those of intravenous lamivudine. Twelve patients with HIV were enrolled in a single-center, randomized, open-label, four-way cross-over study. Treatment arms consisted of 100 mg intravenous lamivudine (administered over 1 hour), 100 mg oral lamivudine (1 mg/mL), a 100-mg capsule, and a 100-mg tablet, each followed by a 3- to 14-day washout period. Serial blood samples over 24 hours were obtained after each dose administration. Serum concentration data were analyzed to determine pharmacokinetic parameter estimates including area under the curve (AUC), terminal half-life (t1/2), mean residence time (MRT) for each formulation, systemic clearance, oral clearance, and apparent volume of distribution (Vd). Absolute bioavailability and in vivo mean absorption time (MAT) and mean dissolution time (MDT) were calculated for the oral formulations. Deconvolution techniques were used to calculate the input rate for the oral solution, capsule, and tablet. The two one-sided t test was used to determine bioequivalency among oral formulations with respect to logarithmic transformed estimates of AUC and maximum peak concentration (Cmax). Mean (CV) systemic clearance and Vdss after intravenous administration of lamivudine were 22.6 L/h (15%) and 99 L (28%), respectively; mean t1/2 ranged from 8.41 to 9.11 hours for all formulations; and MRT ranged from 4.42 to 5.77 hours for all formulations. Mean absolute bioavailability ranged from 86% to 88% for the oral solution, capsule, and tablet. All oral formulations were considered bioequivalent for AUC and Cmax. The MAT was 1.32 hour for the oral solution, and MDT was 0.03 and -0.11 hours for the capsule and the oral solution, respectively. The oral formulations of lamivudine examined in this study demonstrated acceptable bioavailability for oral administration. The solid oral formulations (capsule and tablet) show rapid dissolution properties with an absorption rate similar to or exceeding those observed with the oral solution. This suggests that dissolution is not an important factor for the rate of absorption of lamivudine. The use of deconvolution techniques using PCDCON provides valuable insight into the absorption characteristics of lamivudine.

In a phase I/II trial assessing the toxicity, pharmacokinetics, and activity of the (-)enantiomer of 2'-deoxy-3'-thiacytidine (3TC, lamivudine), 97 patients with AIDS or advanced human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease were administered 3TC at 0.5-20.0 mg/kg/day. The cohort's median entry CD4 cell count was 128/mm3 (range, 7-357). A toxic dose was not reached, although some patients reported mild headache, insomnia, and abdominal symptoms, and there was a general downward trend in neutrophil counts at the highest doses. Although subjective and difficult to interpret, increases in energy and appetite were noted, particularly in patients receiving > or = 8.0 mg/kg/day. Immunologic and virologic parameters showed evidence of at least transient anti-HIV activity at those higher doses. Although further studies of 3TC as monotherapy are needed, its favorable toxicity profile, evidence of at least transient clinical activity, and results of in vitro resistance experiments support further clinical testing in combination therapy.